The industry group has yet to key in on a particular development, but is still weighing its options.

One of those options -- the possible redevelopment or tear down of Interstate 345 -- is something that has intrigued the council through its foundation, which has given $125,000 to fund a study to look at the implications of the freeway either being repaired or torn down.

"We felt this was a good way that we can be engaged in the discussion and help a process that could determine the future of downtown Dallas," Linda McMahon, president and CEO of The Real Estate Council, told the Dallas Business Journal."We want to look at all options and not just tearing down the freeway. We want to look at what could possibly happen if it was either redesigned or removed."

I-345 is a 1.4-mile elevated freeway connecting U.S. 75 to Interstate 30 and Interstate 45 on the east side of downtown Dallas. The freeway is in disrepair and the Texas Department of Transportation is deciding whether it should repair the old freeway or spend hundreds of millions rebuilding it.

But some urban planners say the freeway, which separates Deep Ellum from the city's central business district, should be removed, according to a Dallas Morning News article.

The Real Estate Council-funded study will investigate the long-term impact of freeways running through the center of the city's central business district and if the land could be used more effectively, McMahon told me.

"We want to see what this will do 50 years from now and not just accept the status quo," she said.

The Real Estate Council has been searching for a massive community impact project to help fund for the past nine months (much like Klyde Warren Park, which the group gave $1.5 million to help build), but have yet to find a worthy cause, McMahon said. The group is making smaller investments, such as this study, to help find its next big project.

"Anything you do these days requires a lot of ground work and we want to look at all our options before we charge ahead," she told me.